Description: Paul Thomas Anderson's The Master stars
Joaquin Phoenix as a psychologically damaged war veteran who
finds himself working for Lancaster Dodd (Philip Seymour
Hoffman), a charismatic figure building his own religion. As
the alcoholic, self-destructive former soldier becomes more
deeply involved with the leader of this cult-like
organization, his natural instincts keep him from embracing
his new position as strongly as others in the group would
hope. The Master screened at the 2012 Toronto International
Film Festival.

The Film:

Paul Thomas Anderson's closely observed character study represents a
reverse image of its predecessor,
There Will Be Blood, in which a prospector (Oscar winner Daniel
Day-Lewis) and his protégé (Paul Dano) engaged in an epic battle of
wills. In this more tonally consistent effort, the acolyte takes center
stage. Gaunt, tightly wound, and eerily reminiscent of Montgomery Clift,
Joaquin Phoenix plays Freddie Quell, an ex-naval officer suffering from
posttraumatic stress disorder. Since World War II, he's had difficulty
holding down a job due to his hot temper and affinity for paint
thinner-spiked potions, but the charismatic Lancaster Dodd (Philip
Seymour Hoffman in a more subtle, but equally skillful turn) finds him
irresistible as a project, a surrogate son--maybe even the shadow self
that he normally keeps hidden (Dodd shares Quell's propensity for the
occasional splenetic outburst). Lancaster welcomes him to join the
Cause, a movement that recalls Scientology by way of Freud, since he
focuses on the elimination of past trauma through a
pseudo-psychoanalytic exercise called processing. If he provides Quell
with a surrogate family, much like Burt Reynolds in Boogie Nights, his
loyal wife (Amy Adams) and cynical son (Jesse Plemons) seem more
skeptical. While participating in their rituals, Quell sails with the
group from San Francisco to Pennsylvania, but it's hard to tell whether
he really believes or whether he's just going through the motions. The
lack of clear-cut conclusions will leave some viewers cold, but you've
never seen a performance--simultaneously riveting and repellent--like
Phoenix's before.

Paul Thomas Anderson’s ‘The Master’ riffs on the early roots and
allure of Scientology with the same compelling strangeness and heady
intensity that the American writer-director of ‘Boogie
Nights’ and ‘Magnolia’
brought to his last film, ‘There
Will Be Blood’. ‘The Master’ is another tale of warped
power and fanatical delusions, and it sees Anderson on captivating form
as a director who is able to surprise and impress with scene after
scene.

Some of the pre-release talk about ‘The Master’ sought to
distance its gaze from Scientology, but the film is less equivocal: the
organisation depicted here by Anderson may be called The Cause and its
leader Lancaster Dodd (played with a frenzied, red-nosed exuberance by
Philip Seymour Hoffman), but Dodd is clearly modelled on L Ron Hubbard,
from his physical appearance and his eccentric theories to his claims to
be a writer, a scientist and much else besides. The parallels are many,
and the disguise is so thin as to barely exist.

But you can understand why Anderson didn’t want to get too bogged down
in facts. His interest is as much emotional and psychological as
historical. He creates a totally beguiling character, Freddie Quell
(Joaquin Phoenix), to lead us in and out of Dodd’s bizarre world. We
meet Quell at the end of World War II, a disturbed sailor obsessed with
drinking and sexual fantasies (images of him and colleagues frolicking
on a beach look like a Bruce Weber photo shoot gone rogue). Phoenix
plays Quell with an alienating intensity; he’s unpredictable from the
first frame to the last.

Image : NOTE:The below
Blu-ray
captures were taken directly from the
Blu-ray
disc.

The
Masterarrives
on
Blu-ray
from Starz/Anchor Bay. The image has a bit of
teal-leaning but otherwise looks quite strong on the
dual-layered disc. The many close-ups showcase
impressive detail. The 50's appearance, established by the
brilliant art direction is a huge point in detailing an
authentic timeframe.
The bitrate is adequate for the 2 1/4 hour film and contrast exhibits healthy, rich
black levels. There are some notable sequences - credit the
cinematography of Mihai Malaimare Jr. (Coppola's
Tetro). The 1080P visuals seem consistent and are
probably a strong replication of the theatrical film
experience.

NOTE: As reminded by 3
individuals in email; The Master was the first film
in more than a decade to be shot in 70mm!

CLICK EACH BLU-RAY
CAPTURE TO SEE ALL IMAGES IN FULL 1920X1080 RESOLUTION

Audio :

Audio comes
with only one option - a DTS-HD Master 5.1 surround at a healthy 3365
kbps. There are not an abundance of effect separations but some nice
orchestrations via the original music by Jonny Greenwood. Nothing sounds
better though than Jo Stafford singing "No Other Love". The track is
rich and deep easily handling the film's audio requirements. There are
optional English (SDH) or Spanish subtitles and m

The first
supplement segment is entitled Back Beyond and includes
20-minutes of Outtakes and 'additional' scenes, left on the
cutting room floor. The music of Jonny Greenwood is played. There are 9
examples of teasers and trailers lasting a cool 16.5 minutes and an
8-minute 'Unguided Message' as a short 'Behind the Scenes'
glimpse. Lastly Let There Be Light, John Huston's 1946 hour-long
documentary (the final entry in a trilogy of films produced for the U.S.
government by Huston) It follows 75 U.S. soldiers afflicted by emotional
traumas from battle as they enter psychiatric treatment.

BOTTOM LINE: The Master is both complex and compelling with a storyline
of add directions but precise style. Paul Thomas Anderson
remains as brilliant as he is fearless while investigating
areas and unearthing performances to expose one of the
better, most enigmatic, films of 2012. The Starz/Anchor Bay
Blu-ray provides a solid presentation with some extras as unusual as the
film. Anderson diverts you from The Master's duality
and, like all his works, requires multiple viewings for
maximum appreciation. Recommended!

Gary Tooze

February 13th, 2013

About the Reviewer:
Hello, fellow Beavers! I have been interested in film
since I viewed a Chaplin festival on PBS when I was
around 9 years old. I credit DVD with expanding my
horizons to fill an almost ravenous desire to seek out
new film experiences. I currently own approximately 9500
DVDs and have reviewed over 5000 myself. I appreciate my
discussion Listserv for furthering my film
education and inspiring me to continue running DVDBeaver.
Plus a healthy thanks to those who donate and use our
Amazon links.

Although I never wanted to become one of those guys who
focused 'too much' on image and sound quality - I
find HD is swiftly pushing me in that direction.